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Thursday, August 18, 2011

Keven Klopp, You Are The Weakest Link, "Goodbye" and Take Burgess Hanson with you. (repost)

I posted this April 1, 2011 detailing the firing of Keven Klopp from his position as City Manager of North Miami Beach. I included the links to information so please feel free to follow the links and get the whole story and make a decision. It is interesting that the tactics Keven used a City Manager of NMB were utilized here in Deerfield Beach shortly after he came aboard. Interesting!!!The only difference is the citizens of NMB fought back to protect the rights of their employees and their City, but here we did not nothing and so we have ended up in the situation we are in with City Staff being hired from around the Country at great expense to the taxpayers and then our services such as garbage pickup, grounds maintenance of our cemeteries and parks, and basic functions that used to be crowning jewels of our City have been laid to rest by this administration and City Commission. All while out of one side of their mouth telling us we are broke and out of the other side making purchases of trees for $11,000.00 a piece and then making renovations to office for $10,000.00. Is anyone else concerned about this picture our City is painting. Our City is top heavy, they are saying the hiring of these individuals is necessary to make our city better because if we have highly educated people at the top then they can make our City run better and possibly save us, the taxpayers, money. Well, it hasn't happened so far. All these highly educated people that Burgess Hanson and Peggy Noland have hired has done is intelligently created expensive employment packages for themselves that cause the City to have to layoff underlings just to be able to afford the administrative team that has consistently cost the City too much money, which in turn has caused the CIty to require this Utility tax, which if the highly educated administrative team would do their jobs and at least look for cost savings in all departments and stop wasteful spending then this tax would not be needed. For example, the City does not have a plan B, if the Utility tax is rescinded. Well, they do and that was just announced on August 16 and that is to sue the residents who circulated the petition and have outside counsel look for ways to invalidate the clause in the City's Charter which allows the residents to petition an action of the City Commission and have it taken to referendum so the residents can vote on it and decide the fate of their City instead of allowing 5, well in this case it was 4 individuals and City Staff to dictate what is best for us, even though we are the ones who would be footing the bill. Former Mayor Jean Robb, who is not one of those highly educated and highly paid individuals who is on the City's administrative team, however has offered a plan B for the City Manager to achieve his directive of lowering the millage rate without having to impose a 10% utility tax on residents during a time when those very same residents will be facing a double dip recession. When ever shackle they have has already been spent and accounted for just to afford to live and provide for their families. To impose another fee, with the same purpose as the Fire assessment fee, which was so everyone pays their fair share, is insensitive, wrong, and a blatant slap in the face to the law abiding, hard working, tax paying citizens of the City of Deerfield Beach. Peggy Noland and Bill Ganz supposedly, according to their testimony on August 16, where Peggy Noland states into the record that she knows for a fact that teenage boys were paid to circulate the petition, where is your proof Madam Mayor. If you have none and you're lying (which I know I wouldn't be surprised), would that mean that your statement caused official records to be falsified because you lied into the record, which is the one of the charges being brought against Sylvia Poitier. Should I file a complaint so Tim Donnelly can look into that? I think I might! Both gave testimony to justify their concerns and need for outside counsel to be bought in. They did this in the same manner when Burgess asked, per Chaz's request, that Kessler be bought in, which again was another waste of taxpayer money because as it turns out it would seem that Kessler's auditing claims are false, since he is not a CPA and forensic auditing is not a profession for non-CPA's. Kessler seems to be the firm to hire when the employer wants a specific outcome, then Kessler is the firm to hire to get the results you are looking for. They surely did that here in Deerfield and cost the City big time and with no real results. Can our City afford another Kessler debaucle??So, now without further ado I present for your review that post I mentioned three paragraphs ago before I went off discussing the blatant lack of respect the City has for its residents, as shown by their actions.Friday, April 1, 2011

Keven Klopp, You Are The Weakest Link, "Goodbye" and Take Burgess Hanson with you.

So, in my search of the Wide World Web, I came across this little nugget of information regarding Keven Klopp, previously of North Miami Beach. It was the minutes from the NMB City Commission meeting from June 24, 2008 and July 22, 2008.

Mr. Klopp, if you want to leave the room while this is reviewed then go ahead. Now is your chance to duck out. Oh, before I anyone reads further I would like to thank “He Who Shall Not Be Named” for giving me the idea to look through the City archives. Without your past great works I would never have found this information that I am posting here.

On June 24, 2008, Councilman Myron Rosner obtained a “Point of Personal Privilege” to address the commission and he began to state his case for the immediate dismissal of City Manager, Keven Klopp. Once he finished putting forth his case, he entered a motion to “Fire” City Commissioner Klopp, which was seconded and after the roll call vote of 5 to 2 the City of North Miami Beach had fired Klopp.

Seconds later his replacement was voted into the position.

Fast forward to July 22, 2008 and the Councilman are discussing their decision to fire Keven Klopp. Now, I could input all sorts of comedic jabs at Mr. Klopp, but I won’t. I will just repost the minutes from the meeting and let you draw your own conclusions.

Oh, before I forget you can view the minutes in their entirety at the following link:

Let’s start with Council Man Derose who stated that the information provided by Councilman Rosner did not sway his vote. He stated that he had lost confidence in Klopp when it was found that he and the CRA did not negotiate the best selling prices for land that they proposed to the city for purchase. Derose indicated that “he believes our manager should negotiate, on our behalf, to try his best to get the lowest price he can get, not to let us vote to purchase something that is much higher than is worth it.” He continued on to say that this fact really turned him off about Klopp.

Councilwoman Smith stated that it is her ethical responsibility to work towards a better North Miami Beach. She knows that we needed a change. She knew it then, and she does not doubt it for a minute now. Yes we had a hard working likeable manager and his accountability was to lead this city and this is where we are today, less services, employee unhappiness, public events with little presence and little response and a general slide in the wrong direction. Smith stated that when our former manager told her one thing and two hours later sitting here did something else without coming to her and telling her that he was going to do it. He supposedly worked for the council, so she had to vote against it. How many times did that happen? Too many times for her to mention it to everyone here. If the vote was based on popularity there was no question the former manager would still be here, but my vote even though it was presumed was based on Councilman Rosner’s CRA report which shed light on a lot of things that i needed to look into further. My vote was based on the belief that, you are entitled, each and every one of you, to the best city that you can have. The performance that we had was definitely not going in the direction that the residents and employees deserved.

Councilman Julien commented that a writer stated that we need to run this city like a business and that he agreed whole- heartedly with that writer. In fact, if that person had taken the time like we all did and attended the two day retreat held recently that individual would have heard and would have learned. Councilman Julien stated that he knows he said it that if the city of North Miami Beach were a business we would be bankrupt because of the way we are operating. Keven Klopp was not interested in running this city like a business. Mr. Klopp wanted to reduce the parks and recreation budget in half which would have closed down all of our resource centers, community centers and many jobs would have been lost. This would have placed our at-risk children on the streets where they would get themselves into trouble and create a hardship for our working parents that rely on those centers for after school care while they earn a living and that too is not something that he could support. He advised that if you speak with NMB employees they will tell you that they were told that parks and recreation budget had to be cut by two million dollars. Councilman Julien continued discussing the wasteful ways City Management had allowed money to be spent on car allowances, leave payouts, and sick pay for non-general employees (sixty-three of them to be exact). Julien at the previous meeting had stated how he had lost faith in Mr. Klopp as a City Manager because borrowed CRA funds had been expended and purchase contracts were signed before council approval was granted. How can i have confidence when the manager or in the manager when i witness the politics of fear and division being perpetrated upon employees so as to cause family men and women to doubt whether they will be able to feed their families? How can i have confidence in the manager when an unnecessary (and he stressed unnecessary) wedge had been placed between general employees, rank in file police officers and management? How can he have confidence in the manager when advancement, promotion and pay increases seem to be based upon political acumen rather than upon ability and knowledge? How can he have confidence in the manager when again and again suggestions to balance the budget appears to be on the backs of those who can least afford it, the general employees and our hard working tax paying residents?

Does any of this sound familiar???

Councilman Julien said the truest statement that the City Commission and the City Management of Deerfield Beach should listen to.

Councilman Julien indicated that there will be jobs that are lost this year but the jobs that should go first are the ones that will not affect our residents. He stated that we need our police officers to keep us safe; we need our maintenance workers, our sanitation workers, our lifeguards, our camp counselors, and our resource centers so that our youth will have a place to recreate. Councilman Julien indicated that what we can do without right now are a few less department heads and assistant department heads. Councilman Julien stated that last year he suggested that we renegotiate certain management contracts.

Preach on Councilman!!!!

Mayor Marin chose not to speak about the job Mr. Klopp performed, stating that he had already spoken on the subject. He focused on the future and was optimistic that the firing of Mr. Klopp was step in the right direction for the city.

I’d have to agree because 4 months later in October 2008 the city reached an agreement with its employees bargaining unit and mass layoffs were prevented, layoff rules were established and the City was able to function under a balanced budget, while maintaining all services at an acceptable level.

Now, I ask you how the heck this guy got a job with the City of Deerfield Beach. Did Deerfield’s city management not contact previous employers for references? Mahaney and then Burgess should have reviewed this information from a “public city commission meeting” prior to offering Klopp a job and then a promotion, because it was available on the internet. Heck, even if they didn’t want to read through the final commission meetings that lead to the dismissal of Klopp, they could have watched them. Oh yes, they could have watched them. There is video!!! (The video located athttp://www.citynmb.com/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC={156A855C-8008-4353-9FB3-7540C6A12C71}

At the points where the Councilman is stating his reasons for firing Klopp, the tape becomes garbled. But you can listen to the recording in its entirety at the same location, but the two video options do not have the full audio.)

I have been scouring the internet for confirmation of layoffs in that City after the City Council determined he was the weakest link and told him “goodbye”. But I have yet to run across anything. So, I have to assume that getting rid of Klopp was the best thing for the City of North Miami Beach. Now, he is here and starting that same bullshit over again with the help of our City Manager Burgess Hanson.

Now what are WE going to do about it???

City of North Miami Beach’s Council meeting July 22, 2008: Councilman/woman discussing the firing of City Manager, Keven Klopp